Nigeria: Umahi: South-east leaders pursuing political solution for Kanu’s release

By Zuleihat Owuiye, Nigeria

Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, says South-East leaders are exploring political options to secure the release of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu while maintaining peace in the region.

Umahi spoke during an inspection of Section II of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in Epe, Lagos State. He said governors of the South-East are “doing everything possible” and that he supports efforts to achieve a peaceful region and find political ways to help “our brother, Nnamdi Kanu.”

*Tinubu vs Obi, and 2027 politics*  

The minister dismissed claims that Ebonyi State aligns with the Obedient Movement, stressing that the state and South-East remain supportive of President Bola Tinubu. “We recently adopted President Tinubu in Ebonyi State. Our loyalty is to President Bola Tinubu,” he said.

Umahi criticized Peter Obi over a reported comment that he would stop Tinubu’s legacy infrastructure projects if elected. “When my brother, Peter Obi, said… he would stop the legacy projects, that was a very painful statement. I hope he did not say so. But I know Nigerians will reject that position,” he stated.

He accused Obi of failing to address insecurity and the Monday sit-at-home order in the South-East, saying: “People sit at home every Monday, and he has not spoken against it. Nobody should joke with the thousands of South-East people who were killed in the process.”

Umahi also challenged the Obedient Movement to compare Tinubu’s record as Lagos governor with Obi’s record in Anambra, asking them to assess the master plans and projects that outlived each administration.

He described the coastal highway as evidence of Tinubu’s vision for national development and economic growth, adding that infrastructure projects along the River Niger corridor would create major opportunities for the South-East and Nigeria.